Chapter 0965: Lying Corpse
A sky full of phoenixes swept downwards, each one emitting terrifying undulations of energy. Every single feather on their bodies was alight with flames, giving them an intimidating appearance.
The flames reminded the group of the foes they had encountered earlier, possessing the ability to ignite one's resonant power, though this was on a significantly smaller scale.
Clearly, the elite disciples before them wielded an even greater mastery of this power.
In order to prevent the weaker ones in their group from sustaining severe injuries, Qin Ying, Li Lingjing, and the rest of the stronger ones did not dare to tarry. They immediately burst forth with majestic amounts of resonant power, and all of their Heavenly Pearls immediately manifested behind them, devouring worldly natural energy endlessly.
Streams of energy rose up to block the flames.
But the layers of energy were swiftly eroded, and the expressions of the group changed. It was indeed as they had expected. Each phoenix was also able to burn away one's resonant power, so their own resonant power had dissipated upon that collision.
Their defenses were breached almost instantly, and the phoenixes tunneled through the gaps. It was then when Qin Yi, Li Luo, and the rest took action.
When Li Luo saw this, he activated his wings. With a flap, he vanished like a bolt of lightning, attempting to dodge the phoenixes.
The barrage of attacks was so strong that even Li Lingjing, Qin Ying, and the rest were unable to protect them, so of course they had no chance of stopping it themselves.
When Li Luo dodged, Qin Yi's reaction was in no way less efficient. A stream of water took form beneath her feet and then a small water fountain instantly appeared a distance away. It transformed into a water lotus, and Qin Yi's figure flashed before appearing on it tens of feet away, as though she had teleported.
This technique that combined speed and elegance gave her the appearance of an immortal fairy.
Everyone else began to reveal their own preservation abilities. Still, there were some unfortunate ones who were struck directly by the phoenixes, letting out miserable yelps. They ended up covered in flames as a result, but their bodies remained unharmed. Their resonant power, however, gradually receded into nothingness.
In the short span of ten or so breaths, they powerlessly collapsed onto the ground. Although they were still breathing, all of the resonant power in their bodies had been sucked dry and they had no ability to resist any longer.
This caused the team's scalps to turn numb. They were sitting ducks without resonant power, unable to utilize any of their techniques or arts, leaving them completely at the mercy of others.
Li Luo continued to evade, flickering and weaving through the flying phoenixes. Occasionally, one would almost brush past his body, leaving him with a back full of cold sweat.
His eyes swept across the battlefield before he noticed Qin Yi. He approached her and shouted, "Fairy Qin, how long are we planning to hide for?"
Qin Yi batted him a single glance before replying, "This is just their first wave of attacks. The stone platforms they are sitting on should contain unique wards that bolster their strengths. They are also the keys that will allow us to enter the gilded hall. We are awaiting the moment when their offensive stops before we launch a combined counterattack. The moment we can knock one disciple off their stone platform, we can make our way in."
Li Luo nodded. Although the stone platforms were able to boost the elite disciples' strength, they were no different from automatons as they lacked spirit and sentience. If they could find an opportunity, it should allow them to break through.
The only issue was that before the chink in their armor could be found, the assault only increased in intensity and ferocity.
They formed more hand seals, and all of the remaining phoenixes that were flying in the air suddenly fused together and transformed into a gigantic thousand-foot-tall phoenix.
The phoenix spread its wings. With a single motion, countless flaming feathers poured down from the sky like a torrential rain. When faced with this overbearing assault, even Li Lingjing, Qin Ying, and the rest of the ones who were powerful enough to resist the eight-pearl elite disciples could only do their best to attract as much of the flames as they could, with the hopes of reducing the pressure on the ones they had to protect.
The opponents could make use of the wards to unleash torrential attacks, but it was not time for the counterattack yet.
Unfortunately, this also meant that the danger Li Luo and the rest were under had increased. The flaming feathers that blanketed the sky were weaker than the individual phoenixes, but in terms of sheer quantity and reach, they vastly exceeded the latter. If one were struck by too many feathers, they would be left in a miserable state.
Li Luo did his best to avoid them, but he noticed something interesting. The quicker he moved, the quicker the feathers became and the more feathers he would attract.
The flaming feathers seemed to possess some sort of tracking ability.
Thus, Li Luo quickly realized that he was being chased by a large amount of flaming feathers. He was well aware that if he was struck, he would likely have all of his resonant power sapped from his body.
Being exhausted of all his resonant power in this situation would definitely be an ominous situation for him. Even the temporarily allied Qin Yi might cut him down at that opportune time.
Li Luo then glanced at Qin Yi and realized that she had not utilized many means to avoid the flaming feathers. Instead, she remained cool and collected, restraining the resonant power within her body, looking almost like an exquisite and beautiful jade carving.
In this almost passive and inanimate state, she avoided all of the flaming feathers. The few that struck her passed through her body as though she was not there.
At this point in time, Li Luo understood that Qin Yi already knew how to dodge this attack but had not been inclined to inform him.
"Cunning!"?Li Luo gritted his teeth in silence. This woman was not to be trusted after all. However, it was not the time to think about such matters as the flaming feathers behind him shot towards him. Li Luo suddenly retracted all of his resonant power and rolled on the ground several times. He then froze in position and acted like a lifeless corpse.
As Li Luo played dead, the large number of flaming feathers halted a few inches before his frightened gaze. A brief moment later, they turned around and directly rushed towards the other fleeing opponents.
This brought a sense of relief to him. It seemed that the feathers had the ability to track down moving creatures with resonant power undulations. By remaining still and abandoning his sense of fear, he could easily avoid them.
One only had to feign death and await the prime chance to break through the elite disciples' wards, then they could enter the gilded hall.
The motionless Li Luo swept his gaze in all four directions and noticed that the ground was full of corpses. There were many rogue cultivators who had fallen trying to break in, and the majority had ended up here.
This tragic and bloody scene shook Li Luo.
He offered them a quiet prayer before he caught a glimpse of a lone flame feather rushing towards him. It seemed as though a fish had slipped through the net.
Li Luo frowned, but he then noticed a large, mountainous individual that had died on his right. He quickly moved himself behind that body and used it as a meat shield.
The flaming feather lodged itself in the massive body, then a large amount of flesh was blown apart, causing blood to spill in every direction. At the same time, the body began to burn.
"My condolences, brother. I hope you rest in peace even though your corpse couldn’t remain intact."?Li Luo sighed in his heart.
However, he then realized that a few more flaming feathers had shot towards him yet again. These were all feathers that had escaped the net. It seemed like they had wandered too far from the phoenix, so now they were randomly attacking anything in their sights instead of maintaining their original targets.
Li Luo noticed that the out-of-control flaming feathers liked to shoot in his direction. It seemed as though there was something about him that was attracting them.
Confusion flooded his mine. Did it mean that he could no longer pretend to be dead?
Just what about him was attracting the attention of these damned feathers.
After a moment of thought, the corner of his mouth twitched inadvertently. Could it be that it was the Acquired Resonance Flame? As a result, the lost feathers naturally felt an attraction and affinity towards him, racing at him as a result.
Li Luo smiled bitterly. Fortunately, the mountain of meat before him was a helpful shield, able to resist quite a few more feathers that flew in his direction. Unfortunately, it gained quite a few new holes as a result.
"Brother, thank you for your help. I'll definitely find an auspicious place to bury you later," Li Luo murmured to the corpse which he had repurposed as his shield.
After he spoke, he was completely shocked to see the mountain of meat suddenly open his eyes and stare at him!
His voice trembled as he said, unsure of whether it was because of the sheer pain or anger towards Li Luo, "Dear brother, could you move a little further away from me, please? You're about to get me killed!"